Editing Caliban (Ravenloft) (section)

===Birth of a Monster===
What defines a caliban is its corruption; the mystical poison that soured its womb and caused it to be born as such. And there are a ''lot'' of sources for this to happen:

'''Emotional Twisting:''' The fabric of the [[Demiplane of Dread]] is inherently responsive to emotions, which explains the abundance of hauntings and phenomena such as sinkholes of evil. A pregnant woman who experiences a particularly strong and/or consistent emotion during her pregnancy may give birth to a caliban, whose breed is determined by the emotion she was feeling. Brutes are born of fear or terror, Bestials of rage, and Banshees of grief. This is one of the two most common sources of caliban births, at least in the Core Lands.

'''Magical Twisting:''' Direct exposure to magic can result in mutagenic effects on unborn children. [[Hag]]s, [[fiend]]s, [[Shadow Fey]] and other powerful, magical creatures are most likely to cause this, but even proximity to a strong magical site or a magical artifact, or even being affected by a spell, can all result in caliban births. This most commonly causes calibans of the Witchspawn breed, but Brutes may sometimes manifest as well, presumably in response to magics relating to combat and destruction. Necromancy spells, or even just sources of necrotic energy, such as the presence of a powerful [[lich]] or [[vampire]], can cause the birth of Banshees. Alongside Emotional Twisting, this is the most common source of caliban births in the core.

'''[[Fleshcrafting|Flesh Sculpting]]:''' It goes without saying that dark arts of shaping flesh can be used on unborn children to turn them into monstrous new forms. The [[illithid]]s of Bluetspur have even been reputed to have shaped a new caliban breed through their experiments; the Carnium. This is described as a stunted, shriveled thing, like an emaciated baby with a distended cranium, whose affinity for [[psionics]] stands as a contrast to the Witchspawn's proclivity for magic.

'''Obsession:''' Such is the responsiveness of the [[Demiplane of Dread]] to strong emotions that a would-be-mother who desires it enough may find her womb filled with life, even if she were totally barren. Of course, the Dark Powers give nothing for free, and such babies are always marked and unnatural,  invariably being Witchspawn.

'''Tainted Flesh:''' Pregnant women who engage in cannibalism frequently give birth to the caliban substrain called, simply, cannibals. Who'd have thunk it?

'''Necrophilia & Possession:''' Thanks to the twisted humor of the Dark Powers, people who commit carnal acts with the dead or [[undead]] may find themselves the parents of caliban offspring, whether it is the woman impregnated by her [[vampire]] lover or the [[necromancer]] who finds his [[zombie]] sex-toy mysteriously pregnant. Even sex with someone possessed  by a [[ghost]] or other spectral undead can lead to the birth of a caliban. Such acts usually produce Banshees, but Cannibals or necromantic Witchspawn aren't unheard of.

'''Curses:''' Of course curses can be used to create calibans. As well as direct curses, even having sex on certain "cursed" days can result in a caliban's birth should conception occur.

'''Inbreeding:''' This taboo act frequently produces Brutes and Cannibals.

'''Chemistry & Alchemy:''' Mundane or magical pollution can deform the unborn as surely as raw magical energies themselves.

In addition to all of the above, sometimes, calibans are just born that way, and nobody knows why!